UPN To Announce Fall Schedule This Week

Enterprise network UPN will Thursday unveil its line-up of primetime programming for the 2003-2004 season.

CBS president Leslie Moonves, who also runs UPN, and entertainment president Dawn Ostroff will make the announcement at the network's upfront sales presentation at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York.

As indicated by Ostroff earlier this year (story), Enterprise is expected to return for a third season and it is highly unlikely the fifth Trek series will move from its Wednesday 8:00 p.m. timeslot. However, Enterprise's 9:00 p.m. lead-out show, The Twilight Zone, is "on the bubble" and may not be renewed for a second season.

The Futon Critic reported Jake 2.0 (previously known as Weapon X), is "all but certain" to end up on UPN's fall schedule. The series stars Christopher Gorham (Odyssey 5) as a technician who is mistakenly injected with computer chips and becomes a human weapon for the National Security Agency. Since the network has paired both Enterprise and Star Trek: Voyager with genre shows, Jake 2.0 is likely to take the post-Trek slot should The Twilight Zone be shown the door.

Another contender for a spot on UPN's fall schedule is Newton, which centres around a family which moves into a seemingly normal suburb only to discover it is a testing ground for futuristic inventions. The pilot, produced by Joel Silver (The Matrix), was filmed in Sydney, Australia. Speaking to The Age last week, Silver reportedly said he was "unsure" of whether the pilot would be picked up, but did describe Newton as "pretty good".

Tuesday night is likely to get a complete overhaul come fall. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is set to leave television screens after seven years this season, and its new lead-out series Platinum could soon follow, leaving UPN with a fresh canvas to work with on Tuesdays. Possible contenders include Hotel, a remake of the 1980s series from uber-producer Aaron Spelling; Vegas Dick, which centres around an ex-conman; and The Edge, about undercover F.B.I agents on the US-Mexico border.

On the comedy front, Will Smith's All of Us is another "all but certain", according to the Futon Critic, as is Opposite Sex, featuring rapper Eve. With Monday's urban comedy line-up still performing solidly, UPN may choose to establish a new sitcom block on Tuesday nights.

Further details on possibilities for UPN next season can be found at the Futon Critic.